Economic Newsletter Dutch Caribbean October 2018

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1 Economic Newsletter Dutch Caribbean October 2018 Herewith you receive third issue of 2018 of the Economic Newsletter Dutch Caribbean. You receive this newsletter because of your involvement or shown interest in the Dutch Caribbean and/or Caribbean islands of the Kingdom. The aim of this newsletter is to share news on current (economic) affairs, initiatives and activities concerning the Dutch Caribbean and/or Caribbean islands of the Kingdom. News articles can be submitted before every first Monday of the month to Ronald Vermeeren. Inventory of subscribers to the Economic Newsletter Dutch Caribbean The number of readers of this newsletter is still growing and we often hear from new receivers they got the newsletter forwarded. It is important for us to get a good insight in the total reach of the newsletter, as this forms the basis for making it. Therefor we would be happy to receive a cc in case you forward this letter to contact(s). You can also forward directly contact details of possibly interested companies or individuals to eugenie.balde@rvo.nl. St. Eustatius joins the Yarari sanctuary On September 20th, 2018 the Minister of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality mrs. Schouten and the Government Commissioner of St. Eustatius, mr. Franco signed the declaration that St. Eustatius joins the Yarari marine mammal and shark sanctuary. The waters of Sint Eustatius are now part of the eleventh marine mammal and shark reserve in the world. The name of the reserve, Yarari, is a Taíno Indian word that means a fine place. The goal of extending this reserve is to actively protect the declining population of marine mammals and sharks. The St. Eustatius National Parks Foundation (STENAPA) plays an important role in this matter. STENAPA congratulates the local government and the inhabitants of St. Eustatius for now being a part of the Yarari reserve. STENAPA has actively taken part in protecting marine mammals and sharks, and will continue those efforts in the future. With signing this declaration, St. Eustatius joins the public entities of Bonaire and Saba, that signed the declaration earlier. In the Yarari reserve, that now also encompasses the waters of St. Eustatius, the protection of sharks and marine mammals is now officially acknowledged.

2 Sharks and marine mammals play an important role in the marine environment. Where there are more sharks, there are contrary to what you might expect more fish as well. That makes the established reserve important for the fishermen on the island, that have expressed themselves in favour of the establishment of this reserve. Marine mammals are, just like sharks, important for tourism in the Caribbean region. For more information: Malvern Dijkshoorn Research by CBS to use e-commerce in the Dutch Caribbean The ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate requested Statistics Netherlands (CBS) to research the use of e-commerce in the Dutch Caribbean. It concerns a follow-up to a preliminary study that CBS conducted in This study showed that a large number of companies had problems with placing (online) orders, payments, delivery and verification processes when ordering. How big the problem is will become clear through this research. As from October 2018, a total of 1000 companies (100 on Saba, 200 on St. Eustatius and 700 on Bonaire) will be approached by telephone by interviewers from Statistics Netherlands. The research results are expected to be published in February Should you have concrete examples of problems in the field of e-commerce (for example when ordering, paying etc.), please inform Mabel van Houten of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate. More information about research in the Dutch Caribbean can be found here. Price comparator Bonaire kick off On 30 August the first price comparator Bonaire was published. In this comparator, the prices of 60 daily groceries (such as vegetables, fruit, meat and bread) are being compared in 15 supermarkets. The comparator will be drawn up monthly in both Dutch and Papiamentu and published in a number of newspapers and on unkobon.org. In addition, attention is paid to the comparator on the radio and via Facebook. Consumers can use the comparator to see in which supermarket daily groceries are the cheapest. The price comparator is carried out by Unkobon in collaboration with Fundashon Tienda pa Konsumidó Boneiru, and on behalf of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate. The price comparator is one of the follow-up actions on the research into the causes of high food prices, carried out in 2017 by EZK. The first comparator (August) can be found here and the second (September) here. For more information: Willem Verschoor SIB voucher granted to the Cadushy Distillery on Bonaire After the opening of the trade and investment enhancing instruments of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for SMEs in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, it appeared that in particular the Starters International Business (SIB) scheme met the needs of the companies with international ambitions. For all three voucher systems within SIB (individual coaching, participation in trade missions and for legal or tax advice) applications were submitted. Vouchers for individual coaching in order to be able to export successfully have now been granted to three companies. One of these companies is Cadushy B.V. on Bonaire. The Cadushy Distillery produces liqueurs and spirits in a local distillery and now wants to conquer the world. For this, owner Eric Gietman has entered a coaching program with SIB advisor Patrick Braster from ExportPartner.

3 Meanwhile, six consultants based in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom have also been designated for individual coaching within the framework of SIB, so we expect many more applications to be submitted. For more information: Marcel Knoors Bonaire and Saba extend Silver Quality Coast Award During the Global Green Destinations Day on 27 September in Nijmegen, Saba and Bonaire have once again earned a Silver Quality Coast Award, due to persistent efforts of both islands towards becoming sustainable touristic destinations. The ultimate goal is to achieve a perfect balance between economy, ecology and prosperity and wellbeing of the local people. This Quality Coast Award was granted on the basis of a globally recognized assessment method that evaluates coastal destinations against 100 criteria on 8 themes such as nature, culture, energy and involvement of local population and business community. For Bonaire and Saba, it is the second time that they receive this award and thus end up in the worldwide Top 100 of sustainable tourist destinations. On both islands public and private initiatives are being undertaken to bring Saba and Bonaire a step higher on the podium in 2 years and then receive a Golden Quality Coast Award. For more information: Quality Coast and Green Destinations en Bonaire Blue Destination RVO organizes information meeting on reconstruction Saint Maarten On 28 September RVO organized together with NL in Business and the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations an information session for the Dutch business community about the reconstruction program for Saint Maarten. About 150 companies, consultants and other organizations gathered information about the National Recovery and Resilience Plan Saint Maarten and the trust fund that the Dutch government together with Saint Maarten and the World Bank created to implement this plan. Experts of the World Bank gave a status update of the key areas like sustainable strengthening of infrastructure, accessibility and waste collection and processing. Attendees had the opportunity to ask questions about the process of implementation and tendering of, among other things, consultancy, equipment and constructions. Tenders are distributed locally (by the government of Saint Maarten) or by the Worldbank. The first tenders are expected to be published in the coming months. For more information: World Bank Caribbean Business Hub: bijeenkomst 15 november in het Arubahuis On November 15th a meeting will be held in the Aruba house in The Hague with the theme 'High level networking Opportunities in Leisure and Agriculture '. In addition to a speech from the Plenipotentiary Minister Aruba, the company PRIVA (leading in the development and production of technology for solutions in horticulture and building automation) will give a presentation on climate-neutral entrepreneurship. Next a presentation will be held by Eurolandschap (Leisure & Resort project development) and to conclude with, Ronald Vermeeren will give a presentation on all trade enhancement schemes for the Dutch Kingdom. Of course there will be the opportunity to network. For more information and to subscribe: Caribbean Business Hub.

4 Get acquainted with Shalini Autar My name is Shalini Autar and as of September 2018 I work as a Government trainee and adviser on sustainable tourism at RVO for the Caribbean Territories of the Dutch Kingdom. With my academic knowledge in the field of (sustainable) tourism and my experience in and with the Caribbean Territories of the Dutch Kingdom, I hope to significantly contribute to the (re)development of sustainable tourism on Saint Eustatius. Janine Kaya My name is Janine Kaya and since the first of September I work for the Dutch Caribbean team. Besides this position, I work for the Enterprise Europe Network for the environment and water sector. With my knowledge and network in sustainable, environmental and water technologies and in Europe (i.e. European innovation programmes), I hope to be of extra value for the Caribbean Dutch islands. I look forward to a good collaboration! From the news: SMILE: New innovation, networking and worldbank tender information event, 2 and 3 november on Saint Martin The Sint Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association (SHTA), ORCO Bank, Global Resourcing, the Chamber of Commerce and Industries (COCI), The University of St Martin (USM) and 360 of Innovation would like to invite you for a new innovation and networking event called SMILE set for November 2nd and 3rd Students on Bonaire get education in entrepeneurship Students from Havo 4 and 5 of the Liseo Boneriano will during one year follow the eduction program EigenBaas ( Own Boss) of Qredits. With this program Qredits wants to stimulate entrepreneurship qualities among young people and thus ensure sustainable economic development. Status of the Dutch Caribbean reefs Following the Royal Palace Symposium in the Netherlands in December 2016, and the harsh call to action by Professor Jeremy Jackson (Scripps Institution for Oceanography) that, if drastic action is not taken to protect them, our coral reefs could disappear within the next 15 years, DCNA has spent the past year collecting and collating all the available information on the status of coral reefs in the Dutch Caribbean. A special edition of BioNews, containing reviews of the status of coral reefs on Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, Saba Bank, St. Eustatius and St. Maarten, is the result of that work.

5 Follow RVO on facebook and Twitter Did you know you can follow RVO on Facebook? The general RVO page is: The link for sustainable international business implementation is: Other relevant RVO communication channels are: RVO website: (RVO (RVO international) To subscribe / unsubscribe from this newsletter: ronald.vermeeren@rvo.nl